Wallflower
by MidgardMuse
Summary: Eloise had retained feelings for Darin for a long time, but was far too shy to confess them. Meanwhile, the man in question sought the attention of another, but couldn't help but wonder about the shy girl who seemed ever present.


\--A.N--

Any of you familiar with Etrian Odyssey 3 will no doubt recognize some of the characters and places in this story.

\--Chapter 1: Merely an interest-- 

Darin had never thought much of her before. Eloise was a bit of wallflower to him; she existed, but her existance wasn't earth-shattering by any means. She was just there.

Sure, they were Guildmates who fought alongside each other in the Labyrinth, but outside their ventures, well, she was just another passerby in his life. Another who he'd never quite taken the time to get to know.

The same could not, however, be said for Eloise and her thoughts towards Darin. To her, Darin had become somewhat of an obsession; always being the first thing that came to mind when she let her thoughts wander.

It was late one evening in early fall, and the bustle of the city had begun to dwindle. After a tiresome day in the Labyrinth, he members of Guild Beowulf were preparing for a good night's rest.

All except for three, that is. Darin, Caul, and Daniel had gathered in the room they shared and were chatting aimlessly as they so often did after the others had hit the hay.

Caul had just finished the dramatic retelling of a monster encounter he'd had that day (complete with elaborate hand gestures and sound effects) when Darin decided to speak up.

"I've got a question for you two" he said. Caul and Daniel both gazed at him expectantly, awaiting his inquiry.

"It occurred to me, neither of you've got yourself a partner, far as I've noticed." The two boys glanced at each other and shook their heads.

"Well, you've at least got an interest, right? You can't possibly tell me you don't."

"In girls? Daniel asked, raising an eyebrow. "Naw, I've got an interest, no doubt 'bout that. Why d'ya ask? It seems a little random, don't it?"

Darin wasn't quite sure himself. He'd be lying if he said he didn't take an interest in the romantic lives of his Guildmates, so he supposed that was the main reason.

He shrugged. "Well, I've noticed a few of the other Guild members have hooked up. Just curious if anyone's caught your eye is all, really".

Caul remained silent (a rare thing for him) and glanced over at Daniel as if to say 'why don't you go first?'.

Daniel removed his hat and ran a hand through his curly brown hair. "Well, there is this one gal..." he started. Darin and Caul sat in silence for a moment. Darin made a gesture urging him to continue.

"Ya know that sweet shop down a little ways from here? The one next to the Bistro?"

Caul smiled and noddd. "Of course! Man, their sweet rolls are the best!" Darin couldn't help but smile at the reminder of his nephew's child-like addiction to sweets.

"That's the one. Well, the baker's daughter, she sometimes helps run the shop. She's a real cutie, she is! Half the time I'm there, I'm just trying to get a peek at her." His face flushed red as he said it.

"You talked to her?" Darin asked. Truth be told, he'd noticed Daniel visiting that particular shop rather frequently. What didn't add up was that Daniel wasn't a terribly large fan of sweets. He'd guessed that a girl was to blame.

Daniel shook his head. "Naw, not yet. I-I plan to though! Next time she's there...not sure what I'll say" he scratched at his neck awkwardly.

Darin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall. "Watch what she does, especially while she's on break." He advised. "Find out what she likes, what her interests are, and strike up a conversation about it. Perhaps you notice she's reading a book you've also read. Talk to her about it."

Daniel nodded. "A-alright! I'll give that a shot."

With Daniel's confession out of the way, Darin looked to Caul. The usually loud, rowdy teen had gone silent and was running his hand up and down his arm- a nervous tick Darin had noticed in him.

"What about you, Caul? You've gone all quiet on me. Come on, spit it out! Who's gotten a hold of your attention?"

Caul continued to fidget nervously, and he muttered something incoherently. Darin leaned forward, hand cupped to his ear. "Pardon? Didn't quite catch that, Mr. Mumbles" he smirked.

"It's embarrassing!" Caul half shouted, looking away from them. The boy had always been quick to fluster

Darin chuckled "Oh come on, what do you think we're gonna do? Tease you about liking a girl? Do we look like grade schoolers to you?"

Caul let out sigh and placed his hands in his lap. "I...think I'm in love with Rita." He said in a small voice, is face flushing red.

Rita Corbitte was an Astrologer who's height contradicted her age belonging to the Beowulf Guild, though neither Daniel, nor Darin had ever directly spoken to her. As far as they could tell, she wanted nothing to do with the other members and would rather keep to herself than make friends.

"Rita? That little Zodiac in our Guild?" Darin asked, incredulous. "How do you fall in love with someone who won't even talk to you?"

Caul shook his head. "It was slow going at first, and she took a while to warm up to me. But once we found some things we had in common, we started to spend a lot more time around each other. I think she's finally become comfortable around me, and I'm hoping she shares my...interest".

Daniel nodded, as if understanding at last. "Ah have seen y'all in town together a lot. So that's what you been up to". A wry grin overspread his face.

Caul felt his blush creeping back up. "W-we're not _up to_ anything!"

Daniel laughed at his childhood friend's response. He'd always found enjoyment in teasing him.

"Be sure to invite me to the wedding, a'ight?"

Ignoring Daniel as best he could, Caul turned his attention to Darin.

What about you, Darin? Shouldn't he who asks also have to share?" It seemed Caul's embarrassment had worn off.

"Ah don't recall ever hearing about a lady friend from you. To not have had a single girlfriend at your age? Now that's just plain embarrassin'..." Daniel said, eyeing Darin with pity. Caul nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean 'my age'? I'm barely older than you two!" Darin countered. "Whatever" he threw his hands up in surrender. "I was never opposed to the idea of sharing. To be honest, I'm not terribly interested in anyone at the moment. Though, that foreign lass at the Bistro, Missy? She's quite the looker. I can't deny I've got at least a slight interest in her"

Caul scoffed."You and every other man in Armoroad. Good luck with that."

Darin shrugged. "Again, not exactly anything I'm willing to pursue right now. I'm just taking things as they come."

Unbeknownst to the comrades, there was another of their Guild still up at this late hour.

Eloise stood from where she'd been crouched outside the door to the boy's room, her ear no longer pressed against the wood.

So that's who it was; Missy. She'd figured as much, considering how much time he spent around her. Eloise let out a sigh and considered giving up right then and there.

Luckily, Darin had said he wasn't planning to actively pursue her just yet, meaning she still had a chance. She'd just have to redouble her non-existent efforts to get close to him.

She returned to her own room and flopped down on her bed, not even bothering to change out of her clothes.

Eloise want quite sure when she'd started to fall for Darin. Sometime between their Guild's seventh and eighth trip into the Labyrinth.

Since then, she'd subtly tried to tried to capture his attention, but to no avail. Darin just simply didn'tseem to notice her presence at all.

No matter what she did though, she just couldn't bring herself to talk to him directly. She'd always been shy, and thus a little reluctant to talk (most of her Guildmates had never even heard her speak), but it was even worse when he was around.

Just being near him made Eloise uneasy, but not in any way that was unpleasant. Her heart beat would hasten, her thoughts got all jumbled, and somewhere, deep inside, she'd get a strong, undeniable urge to just throw her arms around him and never let him go.

But none of that seemed to matter, for he'd not spared her even a passing glance after all this time.

But maybe, just maybe, she could win him over.

Honestly, what was it Missy had that made her so darn attractive? Whatever it was, Eloise was confident she could surpass it.

\--And that concludes chapter 1!--

I hope you enjoyed it and thanks so much for reading. I'm only just starting out as a writer, so the thought of placing my work anywhere terrifies me!

That said, I hope you'll continue to keep up with Wallflower! Chapter 2 should be out soon.

Also, the app is a little iffy, and I'm trying to figure out how to make it so that everything isn't just a giant wall of text.


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